According to multiple news reports at least 23 Syrian refugees have been settled in the City of Victorville by the Federal Government.

This news, which had not previously been uncovered by the media, was first disclosed by San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Candidate Angela Valles in a press release and statement this week throwing another curve ball into an already contentious election that had previously centered around the abuse of children in the County Foster system and other scandals in the County.

The County and City of Victorville, placed on the defensive, deny the claims by Valles that Federal Law requires that state and local governments be consulted on the placement of refugees.

County spokesman David Wert stated he “was unaware of any process by which counties or cities are formally advised of refugee arrivals by the federal or state government,” according to the Victor Valley Daily Press.

Incumbent Supervisor Robert Lovingood stated that Valles “has a misunderstanding of what the responsibilities are” of a County Supervisor and a Victorville Councilman referred to Valles statement as a “complete distortion of the facts” and “lies.”

But a reading of the actual Federal Law related to the placement of refugees from the Cornell School of Law website states from the United States code that “The Director and the Federal agency administering subsection (b)(1) shall consult regularly (not less often than quarterly) with State and local governments and private nonprofit voluntary agencies concerning the sponsorship process and the intended distribution of refugees among the States and localities before their placement in those States and localities.”

From the same US Code, the next paragraph states “The Director shall develop and implement, in consultation with representatives of voluntary agencies and State and local governments, policies and strategies for the placement and resettlement of refugees within the United States.”

The underlying command of each sentence of the code is “SHALL.” It doesn’t say “may” or “should,” it says “SHALL.” This isn’t a matter of the County or City requiring clairvoyant powers or crystal balls.